Vehicle owners often wish to transport items that cannot fit into the interior of the vehicle either because the item to be transported is too large for the vehicle interior or the vehicle interior is already filled with occupants or other items.
For these situations, a variety of external racks are available in the marketplace. These external racks are attached to the exterior of the vehicle using one of a number of attachment systems and allow items such as bicycles, skis, camping equipment, luggage, barbecue grills, gas generators, and the like to carried on the outside of the vehicle. Such external racks are sold by automobile manufacturers as original equipment and by third parties as after-market add-on products.
The present invention relates to a class of external vehicle racks using what will be referred to as a hitch-type attachment system. External racks using a hitch-type attachment system are rigidly connected to a trailer hitch receiver rigidly mounted to the rear of the vehicle. Trailer hitch receivers are conventional and will not be described herein in detail.
But it is relevant to note that these hitch receivers are designed to allow the vehicle to tow trailers, such as camping trailers, boat trailers, utility trailers, and the like, having relatively large tongue weights. Hitch receivers thus are generally capable of bearing substantial static and dynamic downward loads. In addition, trailer hitches are sold and installed according to a standardized system that ensures that a given trailer hitch will meet minimum tongue load requirements. Racks employing hitch-type attachment systems thus are capable of carrying relatively bulky items safely and reliably.
Many vehicles have trunks or rear doors that allow easier access to the rear of the vehicle interior. Typically, sedans have a trunk, while minivans, sport utility vehicles, trucks, and/or station wagons all have some type of rear door. These rear doors may be classified as wagon doors (rotate down about a horizontal axis), barn doors (rotate out about a vertical axis), or lift doors (rotate up about a horizontal axis). With most racks employing hitch-type attachment systems, the rack extends upward at the rear of the vehicle and can interfere with the operation of any one of these types of rear doors. For simplicity, both trunks and rear doors will be collectively described as rear doors in the following discussion.
In many cases, the rack and/or items carried thereby must be removed from the vehicle hitch receiver before the rear door can be used. The removal of the rack from the hitch receiver and/or items from the rack can be a relatively inconvenient, time-consuming process. In addition, the rack must be replaced before it can be used again.